My Experience at the Solo: A Star Wars Story World Premiere (I Met Mark Hamill!!)

The Solo: A Star Wars Story World Premiere happened last week in Los Angeles with a star-studded red carpet premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. I had the very special opportunity to be a guest at both the red carpet event and the after party and I am thrilled to be able to tell you all about it – especially my moment meeting Mr. Mark Hamill!

There is no experience like walking the red carpet of a movie premiere. I have been to a few, and each one is different. They are fast and exciting and star-studded and elegant. But for Solo, I wanted to take my time to absorb every detail…and let’s face it, see as many of the stars of the film as I could.

On Thursday night, I had the honor of walking the red carpet of Solo: A Star Wars Story World Premiere. It was a very special night for myself and 25 other bloggers, as it was the first time bloggers had been invited to attend a premiere of a Star Wars movie…..And we were invited to the after-party as well! I knew going into it, that it was going to be a memorable night.

For the Solo: A Star Wars Story event, Sunset Blvd in front of the Dolby Theatre was blocked off room was made for the Millennium Falcon to land – seriously, we walked under THE Millennium Falcon on the red carpet. The Dolby Theatre is the home of the Academy Awards and it wasn’t the first time I had attended a movie premiere here. Less than a year ago, I was blessed to be at the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Red Carpet as well. Honestly, it’s so exciting to be able to premiere a movie where the Oscars are held each year.

Solo: A Star Wars Story World Premiere: Walking the Red Carpet

When you are invited to “walk a red carpet”, you really don’t know exactly what that means. And when I was invited for my first red carpet event for The Good Dinosaur, it was so fast-paced and I was so excited to be there, that I just didn’t take the time to really enjoy the moment. Since then, I have had a few other opportunities (Alice Through the Looking Glass and Moana), but it is still a fast-paced, exciting experience.

I had my camera ready to take pictures, but I slowed my pace down, looked around and recognized how surreal of an experience it all was. When we first arrived on the carpet, Ron Howard and Alden Ehrenreich (Han Solo) had just arrived, so they were stopped for photos by all the journalists.

Alden Ehrenreich (Han Solo)

And then Alden proceeded to come over to the fans to snap pictures and sign autographs. Such a cool guy!

As I mentioned previously, the red carpet extended under the Millennium Falcon – I mean really!!!

George Lucas

One celebrity siting I was most excited to see was the creator of the Star Wars Universe, Mr. George Lucas. He humbly walked the red carpet into the theater.

We slowly made our way down the red carpet, stopping to snap photos with stars who were waiting to walk the step & repeat, as that’s when the talent is photographed. They all look so beautiful and graceful.

Walking the red carpet of a movie premiere is such an exciting experience. It really moves fast, so you have to be aware of everything happening around you to fully take it all in. What a memorable experience!

Solo: A Star Wars Story World Premiere: The Movie

It’s really special to be able to watch a movie in a historic theater such at the Dolby Theatre. So many incredible movies have previewed here. And like I mentioned before, it is THE theater of the Oscars. And you look around and see so many famous faces sitting in the crowds around you – in the ordinary, theater seats just like you. In fact, Mark Hamill sat SIX rows behind me, munching on his popcorn & chatting with folks before the movie began. Ordinary people folks.

And when George Lucas walked down the aisle to take his seat, the entire audience stood and gave him a standing ovation. I had goose bumps.

Lastly, when the cast walked in, we all applauded and settled in to be the FIRST audience to see Solo: A Star Wars Story. I’m not going to give my review today (watch for it in a few days), but I can tell you, the first thing I did the next day was to purchase my tickets to take my family to see it when it opens May 25. I can’t wait to see it again.

Solo: A Star Wars Story World Premiere: The After-Party

After the premiere, we were all escorted upstairs to a beautiful ballroom for the After-Party, where you are allowed to mingle with the cast & crew of the movie, as well as other fun celebrities. It was so fun to be able to tell the cast right away our reactions to the movie and they were all so gracious to take pictures with us!

But my favorite celebrity to meet this evening has to be Mark Hamill. After knowing him pretty much all my life as Luke Skywalker and seeing him receive his Legend Award at D23 Expo last summer, I was pretty star-struck and barely managed to mumble a “thanks Mr. Hamill.” But he was so gracious and took pictures with everyone who asked – you can see why Star Wars fans love him so much!

The Solo: A Star Wars Story World Premiere was an amazing experience and I feel so blessed to have been a part of the event. The movie is incredible and was the real star of the evening. If you are a Star Wars fan, you will not be disappointed. So make a plan next week to find time to take the whole family to see Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Solo: A Star Wars Story opens in theaters nationwide Friday, May 25, 2018

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Hi! I’m Rebecca Darling, a freelance travel writer who lives in Austin, Texas. I’m a mom of 3 who loves to create exceptional memories with her family. Whether that be on the other side of the world or right down the street, my goal is to help you create exceptional memories too. More about me.